Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
A brilliant combination of haiku poems, clever humor, and engaging illustrations, this book is sure to appeal to its target audience of guys and also to girls. Celebrating the small things in life, each haiku takes a moment in time and then offers a grin to the reader. The poems are arranged in seasons, fitting because so many of them are about nature and a boy’s relationship with it. Whether it is flying a kite, skipping rocks, leaf piles or snowball fights, children will relate easily to these vignettes about the things that make life fun.
Raczka’s haiku are light-hearted and enjoyable. Thanks to the brief nature of the format, the poems are easily shared aloud. Nicely, the poems stand on their own or work together as a larger piece of writing. Reynolds’ art is equally engaging. It too has a great humor about it but also a sense that a moment is being captured.
A celebration of seasons, play and boyhood, this book is a treat. If librarians are looking for something to take with them for summer reading program visits, the summer haiku here would make a great thing to share with boys of many ages. Appropriate for ages 6-9.
Reviewed from library copy.
Waking Brain Cells 